Sideswipe: May 30: What kind of pig?

Snapped by Geoff Leckie of Flatbush.

Standing up to book bans

In recent months in the US there have been a spate of book bans taking place across the country. Libraries weren't happy, with the New York Public Library releasing four banned books to be read for free, and Nashville Public Library coming up with "I Read Banned Books" library cards for readers to proudly declare the freedom to read. Now famed author Margaret Atwood has created a special edition of her most iconic work — The Handmaid's Tale — made out of "unburnable" fireproof materials. Atwood's book has been challenged and banned for decades, and by making it impossible to burn, it becomes a "powerful symbol against censorship", and hopefully protects the poignant story within its pages.

Wellington Op Shop find

No need to hurry, I'm sure they won't have sold yet.

A fishy handle backfires

A bunch of people in Taiwan who legally changed their name to "Salmon" to take advantage of a restaurant promotion may not be able to change their names back, reports the Guardian. In 2021 a restaurant chain Sushiro ran a gimmick in which anyone who used the two characters for "giu yu" (which means "salmon") could earn a free, all-you-can-devour sushi meal for themselves and a handful of friends. Thinking they could just change their name back when they'd had their fill of free salmon, some sushi fans became Salmon Dream, Dancing Salmon, and Explosive Good-Looking Salmon. Government officials complained that the "salmon chaos" was causing a ton of paperwork. The law in Taiwan allows for three name changes and some of these Salmon people had used up their three turns. This month a change in legislation was made to help those with a fishy name, but there is not a lot of public sympathy. "How can we amend the law for those who sell their personality for the sake of benefits?" one irked commenter complained. Another piped in: "Be responsible for your own life, Salmons!".